New Delhi, February 15, 2023 (PPI-OT):Global human rights body, Amnesty International has said the raids by India’s Income Tax department officials on the BBC’s office in New Delhi and Mumbai are an ‘affront to free speech’. Aakar Patel, Chair of Amnesty International India’s Board, in a statement said, the tax department’s raids, which are being presented as ‘surveys’, come less than a month after the organization released a documentary that openly criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said these raids are a blatant affront to freedom of expression. He said, the Indian authorities are clearly trying to harass and intimidate the BBC over its critical coverage of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

“The overbroad powers of the Income Tax department are repeatedly being weaponized to silence dissent. Last year, tax officials also raided the offices of a number of NGOs, including Oxfam India. These intimidatory acts, which undermine the right to freedom of expression in India, must end now,” he added.

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